There was no release of radiation.
Entergy did not say when the unit would return to service.
The 2,045 MW Indian Point station is situated in Buchanan in Westchester county around 45 miles north of New York City. The station has two units, the 1,020 MW Unit 2 and the 1,025 MW Unit 3, which entered service in 1973 and 1976.
Unit 2 at the station continued to operate at full power.
One MW powers around 800 homes in New York.
Entergy filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in April 2007, for a 20-year extension of the unit’s original 40-year operating licenses.
The NRC said that it will likely make a decision on the renewal sometime after February 2010 at a date still to be determined due in part to upcoming hearings regarding various contentions.
The community and environmental organizations have been trying to shut Indian Point since 1979. These organizations fear radioactive contamination from an accident at the plant could cause numerous deaths and injuries in the heavily populated New York City metropolitan area.
